Finally some time to share my exploits in HTTR. I feel that doing a running commentary on a scenario as it unfolds is pretty rewarding. You can not make up things in hindsight as you go, since you actually already have published your thoughts and basis of the decisions you have made. Slowing down the pace of a scenario like this at least to me really bring out the essence of what makes Command Ops a great series of games.

Terror of the Tyne Tees D1 0800-D3 1800 (German side)

Preparation and planning

I analysed the situation, quickly developed a plan and drew some lines on the map. The main objective for the enemy (50th Inf Div, 4th Am Bde) is to seize the WELSCHAP airfield in order to secure LOC for supply to the forces in the area. Given the operational situation at hand I do not need the airfield, but I must deny them from using it. The main effort should be to inflict as much losses as possible to the enemy, since the German forces are already planning to leave the sector (the allied 12th corps is on its way from the south). However to get a victory in the scenario I will need to hold a couple of objectives, the airfield being the primary one. Anyway, its vital to get orders out as quickly as possible because the allied units are allready heading our way.

My concept of operation is to initially setup a defence stretching from MEERVELDHOVEN all the way up to the airfield. My intent with the defence is to have the bns in a vee where the front battalions will be ordered to delay while the rear defends and dig in. When the pressure gets to high they front will collapse and setup new positions in a new line while the rear bn now dug in, defends. My defence will be centred around the built up areas and I trust that the surrounding orchards will provide ample concealments for any redeployment. Ground will be traded for enemy losses and time to prepare further defences and for reinforcements to arrive.

I will initially lack any major fire support. I have a handful 105 and 88 barrels that I will control myself and direct mainly to enemy crossings to reduce the rate of their advance. A Bn supported with my only armour will begin to secure VELDHOVEN to detect and delay any enemy movement that aim to flank me. The reason to keep the armour where in VELDHOVEN is that it is probable that the enemy might choose to ignore the closest axis of advance on the airfield and instead seek a route that will take them over open ground. My limited armour (StugIIIs and StuH42) will act as a reserve and they might in that case already be where they will be needed.

If the enemy proves to be too strong for KG Walther they will head for the woods around the airfield and await the reinforcements that will mainly arrive at D2 0200. These are the big blue arrows on the map, the 1. Pz Regt and the 6 FJ Regt. They will conduct counter-attacks as soon as they arrive and disrupt the enemy lines. I am not sure if I will have the element of surprise at my disposal or how well known the arrival of the 1.Pz Regt is. Luckily I will by the time have some recon elements available that will give me the information I need to plan the attacks.

My initial plan for the defence was optimistic. I never had the chance to redeploy my forces before the first enemy tank crashed right into my first line. I will handle this and setup a more rigid defence further back. I have realised that I will not have any possibility to redeploy my FJs in a delaying action as planned. My only hope is to do something when it gets dark, otherwise I assesses that any attempt of movement or withdrawal will be overrun by enemy tanks.

The AI is really aggressive. Just when I started to engage the 151 Inf BDE base and Arty Regt in the outskirts of EINDHOVEN, I started to get messages that my supplies where intercepted somewhere. That somewhere proved to be pretty close to my own supply base and soon it was in turn engaged by a company of British armoured cars. Some precious artillery rounds and a redeployment of my precious StuGs solved that situation temporarily. As of now there is a huge gap in my lines that is opened for the enemy to exploit. I will create a roadblock to save some time, then it will be up to the 6 FJ regt to use the same gap for their attack in a couple of hours time. It seems that the enemy has bunkered down for the night, hopefully he will stay put because my men are staring to get exhausted.

I tend to always clog up the road network when I get a lot of reinforcements at once. I want to get those panzers rolling as fast as possible, but they always seem to get stuck behind a more slow moving unit. I assessed that the good road network inside EINDHOVEN would prevent this on this occasion, but things are really moving slowly as soon as my units exit the highway.In the west the 6 FJ regt got hold up by on enemy company that has been harassing my supplies. I set their aggro to min in hope that they would bypass, but they choose to do a replan and is now marching over the heide towards their FUP. All considered things are going well, and I now also aim to really squeeze the enemy that I am beginning to envelope. I will however leave an opening so that they can retreat and leave those victory point locations to their rightful owner.

I always find it most interesting to play a scenario for the first time. The briefing told me that the allied corps are on its way north and will be in the sector in a couple of days. I did not take that into account when I made my plan since I thought it was out of the scope for this engagement. Suddenly there is a fresh British bde on the map heading straight for me. On the plus side I just got two air strikes to call in.

No need to post a map since not much have changed. The new allied bde from the south have slipped in to MEERVELDHOVEN right in front of my units. The concentration of British troops in the village is now rather large. I suspect that they will make a last big push north. In the mean time I am attacking them from west and east and blocking them from the north. My tanks have not yet made it to the front line so things aren't going that spectacularly good.

The planned attacks of 6.FJ and 1.Pz failed. 1.Pz never got over their first crossing, it was to costly to keep trying so they have disengaged and seeks to bypass to another crossing. Hopefully they will make it in time to get back into the action. I also diverted forces from 1PZ south to secure additional objectives like AALST and the highway itself. 6FJ failed to get a foot hold in their objective, the village outskirts of MEERVELDHOVEN. It would be foolish to send them in again given that they have taken quite a beating all ready. The enemy is now sending everything he has at the airfield, even if he succeeds he will then be completely cut off.

There is always a balance between sticking to the stated goals and not reinforcing failure. Command Ops is unique in the way that that the game takes this into account with the command loads and order delays. It is costly to change your mind in this game.

The 4th Armoured Bde, 151 and 231 Inf Bde tried during the last hours to break out from the situation they had found themselves in, cut off and surrounded well outside of EINDHOVEN. I would estimate that they had been low on supplies for some time now, given that they lack any LOC to their rear, and that I effectively have been attacking their supply bases from the D2. Lack of supplies would also count for that they never made it to the airfield. They did face pretty green soldiers so it should not have been that hard otherwise. My FJ units where those that took the most beating during the scenario. They did however also give as much as they got. The unit that attacked from the north I now see is the 506 Para Inf Regt. They did not see much action and was contained in the northern part of EINDHOVEN through the entire battle.

You can do the same with Photoshop, or there are specialist 'Operational Map' programs, that AFAIR were free - I didn't get on with them at all though, and am much happier hacking away at PS or InDesign when I need to mock something up.

I only played this one from the Allied side, and apart from a few hairy moments on the road south I found it straightforward, if rather a slog... German infantry is ****ly$ and hard to overrun, his ATG are dangerous and his tanks can fight yours into the ground in a fair fight.

But as Jayne puts it... "I'll kill a man in a fair fight..." ..."or if it looks like he's about to start a fair fight."

Successive concentrations, both of armour and "yoke" artillery concentrations shattered each enemy Battalion in turn until the route was cleared.

The airfield was never taken, but contested throughout, and provided a millstone to grind the Fallschirmjagers on...

The US Paratroopers concentrated their companies within and south of the Town of Eindoven, and held against pressure from the North and East, early relief from the arriving 30th Corps, (before the road was cut by the SS troops) allowed the destruction of several artillery and supply columns, and an extension of the Northern Perimeter.

Overall I didn't secure all of the terrain objectives, but contested or opened the road for most of the duration, and contested the flank objectives throughout. I destroyed far more of his troops than was required for the mission tasking, and was therefore able to apply economy of effort in several places while concentrating forces against the still threatening portions.

The US paratroopers took far fewer losses than the more mobile and offensively tasked 30th Corps, but had a vital task which they were successful in - blocking the easy linking of the two flanks - the eventual cutting of the highway was far to the south, and was immediately met by arriving reinforcements - only scattered remnants evaded from the Eastern SS forces to the Western Polder region - having the FJ and SS concentrated together in the North would have been far tougher to deal with.

I only played this one from the Allied side, and apart from a few hairy moments on the road south I found it straightforward, if rather a slog... German infantry is ****ly$ and hard to overrun, his ATG are dangerous and his tanks can fight yours into the ground in a fair fight.

But as Jayne puts it... "I'll kill a man in a fair fight..." ..."or if it looks like he's about to start a fair fight."

Successive concentrations, both of armour and "yoke" artillery concentrations shattered each enemy Battalion in turn until the route was cleared.

The airfield was never taken, but contested throughout, and provided a millstone to grind the Fallschirmjagers on...

The US Paratroopers concentrated their companies within and south of the Town of Eindoven, and held against pressure from the North and East, early relief from the arriving 30th Corps, (before the road was cut by the SS troops) allowed the destruction of several artillery and supply columns, and an extension of the Northern Perimeter.

Overall I didn't secure all of the terrain objectives, but contested or opened the road for most of the duration, and contested the flank objectives throughout. I destroyed far more of his troops than was required for the mission tasking, and was therefore able to apply economy of effort in several places while concentrating forces against the still threatening portions.

The US paratroopers took far fewer losses than the more mobile and offensively tasked 30th Corps, but had a vital task which they were successful in - blocking the easy linking of the two flanks - the eventual cutting of the highway was far to the south, and was immediately met by arriving reinforcements - only scattered remnants evaded from the Eastern SS forces to the Western Polder region - having the FJ and SS concentrated together in the North would have been far tougher to deal with.

$Cactus like - Forum censored...

Looking back at the screenshots the fighting does indeed look pretty static. The lack of crossings does not really give much room to manoeuvre. I guess that a quick foothold in EINDHOVEN itself is one of the major turnings points in this scenario. Either the Germans are denied freedom of movement to join their forcer, or they get to strong to handle.

What was the real historic outcome from this engagement? I have tried to fins any detailed accounts online but not gotten to the level of detail where I could compare the scenario to the real events.